The Taste Of Fire
by IrishPotato101
Summary: Can Firefly keep her family and friends safe while solving this deadly mystery or will she have to sacrifice her loved ones for the bane of Pyrrhias existence?


Fan Fiction: Wings Of Fire

Prologue:

It started as a hum, a mild urge...it was ignored.

"CRICKET!" The sound of her sister screeching made Cricket jump. As Cricket looked over her shoulder she saw her sister come to a skidding halt at the cave entrance. "Three moons! Vermilion you scared me, what's wrong?!"

"It's coming!" Vermilion yelled.

"What? What's coming!? Where is Mushroom?" Cricket continued while frantically searching under boxes, stacks of paper, and easels.

"MOM, it's coming!"

"Mushroom there you are, what is coming!?"

Mushroom could barely get the word "your" out before Cricket was racing down the hall, her talons barely grazing the stone floor. Cricket stormed through the entrance of the Queen Scarlet's, or now Queen Ruby's, palace and lifted into the air with Vermilion and Mushroom close behind. Cricket dodged and weaved through the forest until she raced around a tree and shot up into the star-filled sky, to get above the canopy, as she spotted a clearing she twisted into a dive and raced to the forest floor.

Cricket caught herself no more than two feet off the ground and landed with a thump on some green moss. A plume of photophores was uprooted and danced in the night air creating an ocean of life. Cricket stopped in front of a small misshapen lavender egg, she waited..." nothings happening!" she screamed at herself, she leaned down and gingerly touched the egg she held it up to the moons. Why did it look like that? Cricket thought to herself.

Vermilion and Mushroom landed and crept behind Cricket. The egg cracked open in Crickets arms, they all gasped, this was happening now...right now; a warbling dazed dragonet gazed up and her with a blue eye and a brown eye.

"Yark?"

Cricket held in a gasp as the young dragonet rippled with color. Each scale had a mind of its own.

"Mom, can I..." Mushroom said faintly while trying to look over his mother's shoulder.

"Shh..." Cricket pressed, "Firefly, my little baby girl." Cricket nudged Firefly's snout with hers and Firefly shined a bright yellow in return.

Chapter 1

"Hey Rainbow, betcha can't catch this!"

Firefly looked down at her talons, showing her emotions, just gray. Mushroom looked over his shoulder. "How low can they get?" he said to himself, shaking his head. "Chasing her up a tree like that, she's not a squirrel!" he ran up to the big dragons.

"Stop it!" Mushroom yelled.

"Rainbow Rainbow!" they fell down laughing, their chests heaving.

"That's not her name!" Mushroom cried.

"Mushroom don't." Firefly said pulling on her big brother's shoulder. She got him to turn away and all she saw on his face was grief. He pushed past her, his wings dragging on the ground. She tried to get him to look her in the eye, he turned away, spread his giant wings and jumped into the air, heading home. Firefly sat down discouraged, her head drooping.

A ball was lobbed at her head, it hit its mark. She hissed and rubbed the back of her head. She had some control over her scales and turned them a dark blue-black color and took to the sky.

"She always gives me the creeps," one of the dragons said as the watched her go.

Firefly stood in the entrance to her and her brother's sleeping cave, he was lying on the top bunk with his back facing her, his red scales shimmered in the light.

"I wish I had normal scales, I wouldn't get picked on." Firefly said to herself.

She walked to the side of her bunk.

She opened her mouth to speak but noticed Mushroom was asleep. She sighed and walked to the study cave, got out some scrolls and started skimming them. Wars, peace, dragonets of destiny, blah blah blah. "I've read all these." She said to herself.

"Mushroom, Firefly! Dinner time!" Mushroom stomped down the corridor passing the study, Firefly's ears perked up as she smiled at him. He couldn't help but give her a small smile.

"Firefly you have barely touched your food. What's wrong?"

"I" Firefly started.

"She forgot her homework!" Mushroom said while stepping on his little sisters tail.

"OW! What was that for?!" She yelped. Mushroom gave her a stern look.

"What is going on between you two?" Cricket asked concerned. Mushroom leaped up and ran to his room.

"What the?" Cricket said looking at her daughter. Firefly shrugged, got off the stone she was sitting on and walked to her room. "Thanks for dinner mom."

"You didn't eat anything," Cricket said still confused.

"Well, thanks anyway." She responded. Firefly found her brother sitting on the wood beam that went across the cave ceiling. She looked around trying to find something to say. "Why did you step on my tail?"

"I didn't want you to say what happened today."

"Why?"

"If mom knew she would worry about you, probably stay up all night worrying. You don't want mom to worry, right?" Mushroom said as he swooped down and opened his wings for a hug.

"No." She said as she let her brother hug her. He was always hugging her, it was sometimes uncomfortable, but mostly just annoying, like most brothers are. As the sun went down they got onto the chiseled stone beds. "Love ya Fire." Mushroom said as Firefly's eyelids became droopy.

"Love you."

"Guys wake up, time for school!" Cricket yelled down the hall. Firefly stretched her wings and yawned. She jumped off her bunk and hit the side of her brother's with her tail trying to get him to wake up.

"Wake up you lazy lump." She called walking down the hall.

"Groan" Mushroom replied while slithering out of bed. They sat down on some stones around there table and enjoyed some breakfast.

Now, I want you two home by sunset and Mushroom, Firefly keep an eye on each other! Cricket yelled into the house while picking herbs in the garden.

As Firefly got her bag and tied it around her neck her brother asked her something that surprised her.

Do you want to ditch? It would only be a day. Firefly looked at her brother confused, he seemed serious. She Covered her face with her talons she thought.

No, what if I miss something important? She said getting up to go. I have to go to school.

Alright, just a thought. He walked behind her as they made their way along the rock outcropping outside their cave. They took to the sky and danced in the clouds.

"Ok, now I want all of you to race around that tree, dive under the log, fly across the lake and meet me back here, you got it?" The PE teacher called.

"Ready, set, race!" The PE teacher shouted. Firefly sprinted around a tree, raced under a log and...CRASH! Firefly collided with another student, head to head, they both flopped into the water. Firefly burst up to the surface of the water, gasping for breath.

"Ow, my head" Firefly whimpered. "Oh my gosh I hit someone, I need to apologize!" Firefly turned around in circles trying to find another bobbing head.

She saw a figure bobbing below the surface, as tragedy struck her. Blood was seeping from a wound, the figure was drowning! In a frantic scramble, Firefly took a gulp of air and dove into the chilly water. They're deeper than I expected, Firefly said to herself as she propelled through the water using her giant wings.

She came up behind the figure and saw that it was a Sandwing, _great Sandwings hate water! _She heaved the Sandwing onto her stomach and pushed up with all her might, to the dragons waiting and watching for the bubbles. Firefly burst out of the water taking in high gulps of water and air. She coughed and sputtered as she tried to stay afloat with a giant Sandwing pulling her down. She paddled to the lakes shore and collapsed in the shallows.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh my gosh, he's bleeding, she's bleeding, there both bleeding!"

"Are they ok?"

"What happened!?" Questions came pouring over them like ocean waves. Until a loud voice yelled. "What happened!?" Firefly got up and could feel her heartbeat getting faster, her breath becoming weaker, her vision getting blurry. She collapsed again, unconscious.

Chapter 2

"I don't remember, all I remember was him." Firefly said shooting a glare at the Sandwing sitting across from her on a cot. "The class was racing and I crashed into him, you were going the wrong way!"

"What! No way was I going the wrong way, you were!" He hissed at her and turned to the principal.

"With you two squabbling like this, nothing is going to get resolved." She said to the two dragnets. The young Sandwing looked at the other dragonet and thought to himself. She's actually kind of pretty. Agh! Her head stitches came undone, she's bleeding through the gauze!

"Um... hey other dragon you stitches are bleeding." The Sandwing said.

"I have a name you know," Firefly responded getting up to go to the nurse's room.

"What's her name?" The Sandwing asked the principal when Firefly was out of earshot.

"Gecko she's in your class, her name is Firefly. Now, I'm sending a raven to your parents telling them to come to pick you up. They shouldn't be long." The principal replied.

Gecko couldn't stop thinking of Firefly, those eyes are so different, and her scales! They shimmer like individual gems engraved in her skin. Gecko are you crazy! What are you thinking? "Be strong, don't get emotionally involved with anyone, and most of all stay safe." Just like mother said…

"Hey, Gecko I forgot to give this to you," Firefly said bursting through Gecko's thought process. She raced over to him and wrapped her wings around him, craned her neck, and kissed him, long and hard. But then she disappeared in a cloud of bubbles, his classmates pointed and sneered at him. Chanting his name.

"Gecko, Gecko, GECKO!"

"Stop! Please stop!" Gecko cried.

"Gecko it's alright, it's only your parents." The principal pressed, trying to calm the screaming dragonet. Gecko's eyes sprang open. He came to his senses and flushed. His parents loomed over him, glaring.

"You're going to have a scar, I'm afraid." The nurse said while wrapping Firefly's head. "I believe his horn stabbed you and your wing may have cut him as you both fell into the water."

"Sigh, thanks for the stitch up." Firefly remarked as she got up

"You be careful!" The nurse yelled down the stone corridor.

Firefly walked slowly to her brothers class and stood outside the door, waiting for the teacher to finish his train of thought. She knocked when she thought the time was right. A male Nightwing answered the door, Firefly saw dragons peaking over the Nightwing's shoulder. She looked around until she saw her brother, he turned to see what all the whispering was about, he gasped.

"FIREFLY!?" He cried the whole room was an uproar of laughter. She was petrified, what should she do, confront the laughter, run away, hide, what do I do, what do I do!?

Mushroom slammed the door as they walked out.

"FIREFLY! What happened!?" Cricket screeched. As her children came into the dining room.

"I um…" Firefly looked from her mother to her brother than to the ground. "I crashed into someone during a race. That's all."

" No, that's not all, you have a giant gash in your head!" Cricket looked furious. " You could have been killed! Or worse, if the impact didn't kill you, you could have drowned! I can't lose you, either of you. I need you" Cricket said while hugging Firefly and Mushroom.

"Mom how did you know I was over water when I crashed?" Firefly said pushing away from her mother's embrace.

"Oh, well um...you look wet, Pookie," Her mother said turning away, not showing her face. Firefly slid her talons over her scales.

"There perfectly dry. Mom want are you hiding from us!" Cricket turned around and both Firefly and Mushroom saw it, this was not their mother, this was a monster, it's eyes wild and failing to focus on any individual object or dragon. Its pupils were slits in bright yellow eyes. It scratched and clawed at its own neck. It crashed into walls as it tried to free itself from its prison. It crashed through the entrance of the cave and swooped into the air shuddering and shaking as it flew over the diverse landscape. Wooded forests and rivers hundreds of miles long cover the land that the dragon's call home.

Chapter 3

"Fire…" Mushroom breathed. Firefly stood at the entrance to the cave breathing short abrupt breathes. Her scales a pale green. Firefly looked at her brother, eyes full of confusion and concern. She ran over to her brother and wrapped her arms around him. He embraced her while still staring at the cave entrance.

"I...I don't know." She looked up at him, searching for any reassurance. "What do we do?"

"We can go to Queen Sca… Ruby" Mushroom corrected himself.

"What would she do?" Firefly retorted. " How about we go to Vermilion? She's family." Mushroom walked around the large stone in the feeding area, thinking.

"True, but what about Trace and Thelo? She already has her talons full with taking care of them. We would just add to the difficulty." Mushroom said, as he sat down next to the large stone, he propped his head up with his elbow.

Firefly grabbed a sack near the cave entrance and walk to their room, she returned stuffing and cramming things into it. She dropped it near the entrance to the cave, thus provoking her brother to do the same.

"Well, go on get your stuff." Firefly said flailing her arms at him. Mushroom didn't budge. He looked up at her and sighed, and laid his head back down on the stone. "Agh, you can be so frustrating!" Firefly scowled at him. "Get your stuff, let's go." She said pointing at the cave entrance. Mushroom got up and grabbed a sack, went to their room and returned with it full.

"Maybe we should wait and see if "mom" comes back. Plus the rainforest kingdom is so far away." Mushroom said looking to the south.

"Nope, we're going." Firefly said grabbing her pack and walking out of the cave.

"Ok then." Mushroom remarked following suit. Mushroom sat down again and watched his sisters bright golden tail flick around the corner of the cave, as she left. He sprang to his feet and raced after her. She had already started out and was a few paces ahead of him. He struggled to catch up. Flapping his wings vigorously. "Why are you flying so fast?" Mushroom managed to say in between breaths.

"There's a storm coming." She answered, not looking back. Mushroom nearly fell out of the sky trying to look for any sign of an incoming storm. He wanted to ask how she knew but decided against it. "I just know." She said as if reading his thoughts. Mushroom nodded to himself. Yup, that's Firefly. Always knowing what I'm thinking. He had always wondered if mind-reading was another power his little sister possessed.

"We'll have to land sooner than we want since we started out so late in the day." Mushroom announced looking at the ground below, and the shadows that the giant mountains that towered above them made. The shadows, he noted, were getting noticeably longer, the sun was beginning to set. Firefly abruptly stopped, mid-flight, and held out her wing. It was intended in stopping her brother, the outcome was slightly different. Mushroom slapped into his little sister sending her sprawling forward.

"Stop." Firefly said trying to return to her original altitude. Mushroom looked at her confused and she pointed at two incoming Skywing soldiers.

"What are two dragonets doing this high, alone?" One of the Skywing asked, his scales were a dark blood red and his voice was gruff. He had a pale pink scar across his eye down to the end of his nose, it caused his upper lip to curl down slightly. The other soldier looked much younger, close to Mushrooms age, maybe even younger. Firefly looked past him, she was concentrating on changing her scale color to a normal Skywing red. When she noticed him smiling at her she flushed and looked down at the ground. When the older dragon noticed the younger soldier looking intently at the female dragonet he growled and nudged him. Mushroom watched the body language conversation and moved in front of his sister, covering her from the view of the young soldier. The soldier frowned at him, discouraged.

"Cliffhanger, at your service." The young soldier said reaching out his talons. Mushroom looked at Cliffhanger's talons and huffed. Cliffhanger retracted them and smiled uncomfortably. The large soldier sighed. "Um...Copper introduce yourself." Cliffhanger said as he turned to the other soldier. Copper looked at all three dragonets in front of him, he looked back at the mountains now covering the setting sun.

"Come on you two, you can stay the night at Queen Ruby's castle," Copper said shooting a glare at Cliffhanger. He started for the mountains and Cliffhanger followed. Firefly hesitated, her wings barely wavering as she stayed airborne. She felt distressed and sighed, then something whizzed by her ear and straight into the back of Cliffhanger's neck.

"Agh! AAA!" He reared and roared, flying in a circle, scratching and digging into his neck. His eyes were wild and crazy. They were almost black, his pupils dilated so much so they covered the yellow of his eye. There was something familiar to Firefly, the sounds Cliffhanger made, his body tensing up, fighting the pain. His body shuddered. Firefly yelled.

"Get him to the ground before he falls!" She couldn't get close enough to steady him. His wing flapped as he struggled to keep himself airborne. Cliffhanger looked down, all four dragons were at a dizzyingly high altitude. His breath caught in his throat, he gagged, his eyes rolled back in his head as he began to fall. Firefly dashed to grab him, missed. She saw a flurry of red whip passed her. Copper wrapped his wings around the dragonet, cocooning him, bracing for impact. They crashed down into some trees, Firefly and Mushroom hung back, wanting to leave. Firefly shook her head and zipped down the the ground. Copper had rolled Cliffhanger onto his stomach, and he checked for broken bones, blood, and internal injuries.

Cliffhanger's head hung limply as Copper cradled him. Cliffhanger's chest rose and fell, rhythmically. Copper looked at him, with fear in his eyes.

"I shouldn't have brought you out here." Copper rocked back and forth, his face full of panic. He frowned as the dragnets made there way over the him and Cliffhanger

"Is he alright?"Firefly asked looking down at Cliffhanger.

"Just a few scratches. He'll be fine" Copper growled. "You two just...just get out of here." Copped flapped his wings at them, shielding Cliffhanger. Firefly jumped back and nodded to her brother saying.

"It's time to go. Copper are you sure your alright? And Cliffhanger?"

"Leave! Now!" Copper roared. Firefly and Mushroom rushes up through the canopy and burst into the sky, it was a beautiful sunset, bursting with color. Reds yellows oranges and pinks littered the sky, creating a watercolor painting across the clouds.


End file.
